so while getting hit on the jaw causes the skull to rotate/move I don't know if the Jaw itself really enters much into the equation. I'm guessing that the only options you have are to train evasive head movement, how to roll with a punch, keep your chin down at all times and strengthen the neck.

I was going to say something to the effect of 'if you want to learn how to take a punch you have to go get punched a lot'. In my experience the more I fight the more I learn how to minimize blows.

In any case this was much more articulate:

Originally Posted by WhiteShark

One thing I'd add is that "Rolling with the punches" is not just a folksy saying. You need to learn to literally roll away from shots that you can't block or dodge. This is one thing that happened from training bare knuckle Kyokushin style sparring. Yeah it isn't the head but you learn pretty fast to twist away from shots to take the power out of them once you understand the timing you can start doing it in you kick boxing sparring too.

If the origins of a good chin are tough to isolate, the anatomy of a knockout can be explained in scientific terms. When a fighter is clipped on the tip of the chin, his head swivels with such force, his brain vibrates inside his skull. That movement stretches nerve tissues in the brain, which then causes a concussion, said Barry Jordan, a longtime ringside doctor with the New York State Athletic Commission.

After conducting medical tests and neurological exams on dozens of boxers, Jordan said fighters who tend to have rugged chins are sometimes those with thicker skulls and necks. Better defensive skills, quicker reflexes and good genes can also be factors, Jordan said.

''A good chin has more to do with genes -- a fighter's genetic predisposition to tolerate punishment,'' he said.

So while in medical school I have actually asked several doctors about this, and apparently the button on the chin isn't just about a concussion from torque to the head. It is also about compressing the sub-mandibular nerve, which is a separate, independent signal to shutdown the brain temporarily.

SifuJason isn't that just on the front though? I thought the jaw "spots" on the side were just ideal levers for torquing the brain.

Yes, pretty much. The nerve can get hit a bit on the side of the jaw, but "the button" is the only spot where the nerve is really whacked. That and the temples, which hits a nerve as it emerges from the brain and also can affect blood flow to the brain.

Yes, pretty much. The nerve can get hit a bit on the side of the jaw, but "the button" is the only spot where the nerve is really whacked. That and the temples, which hits a nerve as it emerges from the brain and also can affect blood flow to the brain.